Fading Relationships
by Nonny The Anon One
Summary: Life is changing for Danny and Sam.  Will they lose each other as Sam dates someone else? Part three of a series


**I present you you, flangsty fic number three as a Christmas Present for Chaos Dragon.**

**All Danny Phantom Characters belong to Butch Hartman and Nick studios. I own nothing.**

Fading Relationships

Sam had a boyfriend, Will, and they had been dating exclusively for six months. She had done a great job at juggling her boyfriend, her friendship with Danny and Tucker, and helping Danny when the ghosts called him to fight. Danny had no reason to complain, no reason to be angry or disgruntled, but that didn't mean he wasn't.

He did his best to hide his feelings. He kept his eyes from her when she showed up after being called, by Tucker of course, during ghost fights when he needed backup. She was often a little disheveled and Danny's imagination ran wild with thoughts of her in Will's arms.

On those occasions he put whomever the ghost he was fighting, in the thermos with a great deal more violence than was probably necessary. Still, he knew he had no right to complain, because no matter how busy she obviously was, she'd appeared when she was called.

She hung out with them on Sunday afternoons, just like always, but he rarely saw her on Saturdays and even more seldom on Friday evenings. Those times were reserved especially for Will, and Danny hated him. He kept his opinion to himself, and remained civil to Will when their paths crossed.

Sam was also careful to keep her displays of affection with her boyfriend, private. Danny never saw them so much as kiss, but their obvious closeness gave him nightmares. When he walked up on them sitting in the grass with their legs wound together, Will's arm around Sam's shoulder and smiled on their faces, he said nothing, but his bloody knuckles from punching a near by tree after leaving their company, belied his easy going demeanor.

Yes, life for Danny the last six months had been a special kind of hell. Tucker had refused to discuss anything to do with Will and Sam, except that Tucker, who was incredibly easy going and accepting of most people, thought that Will was an insufferable twit.

"He thinks he knows everything about everything," Tucker told Danny angrily, one of the few times he'd been willing to discuss Sam's boyfriend.

"Jazz says he's socially inept," Danny replied as he watched Tucker fume, it was rare to see Tucker's temper flare.

"I wish Sam would just…dump the twit, but he's stuck to her like glue," Tucker said bitterly. "He thinks he knows more about technology than anyone else in the world!"

Danny smiled slightly then frowned. "What do you mean stuck to her like glue?" Tucker sighed and shook his head, indicating that he wasn't going to discuss it.

Danny wanted to discuss it, he wanted to figure out how he was supposed to deal with a situation which was getting more and more difficult to stomach. He acknowledged that part of it was his fault, but then he didn't believe that he could have done anything about it anyway, Sam always did what Sam wanted and apparently she wanted to date Will, and so she did.

He had several little scenarios he ran through in his head on occasions when he felt he couldn't stand it anymore. Scenarios where he beat up Will, and threw him in the ghost zone to languish forever or ripped off his arms and legs and threw him in the lake. Even so, he had no right to feel that way. Danny considered to himself that maybe he would have liked Will, if he wasn't dating Sam, but then again, probably not.

Jazz wasn't sympathetic to Danny's plight and he'd given up trying to talk to her about his feelings. She told Danny that his currant situation was completely his own fault and she had little pity for his heartache. She said that if Danny truly loved Sam, that he would step aside for her, because Sam was obviously happy. He was miserable.

* * *

Danny was sitting in the library with his head resting on his hand as he doodled idly in his notebook, even though he was supposed to be looking up information for a stupid research paper and Tucker had abandoned him for, "important appointments". To make matter's worse, Sam was off with her stupid boyfriend, and Danny had a headache from banging his head rather forcefully against a brick wall earlier that morning during a fight with the Box Ghost. 

He didn't notice at first that she had slipped into the chair beside his. She smiled slightly, quietly slid her chair back, then reached out, put her hands on his shoulders and began to massage the tense muscles. He turned and looked up at her in shock, his blue eyes filled with surprise then softening in recognition as she forced him to turn back around so she could continue to kneed his tense shoulders.

"I saw you hit your head this morning," she said as she leaned forward and whispered so she wouldn't be overheard in the quiet library. Danny did his best not to shiver, her hands on his shoulders were torture enough. He closed his eyes and suppressed a groan, though in pleasure at her hands rubbing his sore shoulders, or in torture, he hadn't decided.

"I'm fine," Danny told her as he tried to will himself to pull away from her touch, but then she hadn't so much as brushed her hand against his since she started dating Will and he couldn't help but submit to the heavenly torture.

"You're tense," Sam replied as she gently dug her thumbs into his shoulders, willing him to relax, feeling her own shoulders tense instead. She considered that a massage was a bad idea, though it wasn't like she hadn't rubbed his shoulders on many occasions before, but now she belonged to someone and it wasn't Danny.

She was very proud of herself for overcoming her feelings for her best friend. She'd been able to refocus her emotions to Will, who returned her feelings. The heartache she felt over Danny was rare these days, but she knew it was mostly because she didn't allow herself to be too close to him, either emotionally or physically. She also felt like her friendship with him was slipping away as the distance between them grew. She fought hard to stay in his life, stay part of the team, but it was hard. Sometimes she even felt like she was losing Tuck, who had grown a little distant himself in the last few weeks.

Danny bent his head forward as she smoothed her fingers up his neck and into his hair. She watched goose bumps rise up on his skin like the stars appearing at twilight and smiled.

"Where's Tuck?" Sam asked gently as she continued to trace her finger's down his neck.

"Appointment," Danny answered then sighed as he felt his muscles relaxing.

"Oh," Sam said. "Do you mind if I hang out with you for awhile."

Danny swallowed hard. He hadn't been alone with her in what seemed like forever, and as much as he wanted to just spend time with her, he was worried about what he might say or do. He didn't want to push her any further away than she was.

"Where's your boyfriend?" he asked a little more bitterly than he intended.

Sam frowned as she felt his shoulders, which she'd finally coaxed into relaxing, tense again and she sighed. "Why does it matter where he is?"

Danny shrugged his shoulders then moved away from her touch and she dropped her hands in her lap. "I guess it doesn't," he told her.

She moved so she could lean on the table and look at his notebook. "What are you working on?"

"The research paper for history," Danny replied as he picked up his pencil.

"Want to go with me to the Nasty Burger?" Sam asked abruptly then silently chastised herself for sounding desperate.

Danny met her hopeful purple gaze and sighed. This is what he wanted, more time with Sam, to just be in her presence, just the two of them how it used to be, but now he was a little scared. What could he say to her? He watched as the happiness in her gaze faltered and gave way to sadness and he couldn't help himself.

"Yeah," he said as he packed his books into his backpack. "It'll be like old times." Sam smiled and followed him out of the library, they both blinked a little at the brightness of the afternoon sun, then looked at each other happily and started walking..

* * *

Danny smiled as he finished the last of his Nasty Burger and looked at Sam who was sitting back content from eating her soy melt. It really was like old times, they'd slipped easily back into their own camaraderie, laughing and reminiscing on old times, at least until Sam looked at her watch and sighed. 

"I have to go meet Will," she told Danny gently, as she started clearing their table of trash.

Danny's stomach began to ache as he was pulled back into the present and the fact that Sam, for as hard as she tried not to, was slipping away from him. "Do you have to?" he asked.

"I-I'm meeting his parents," Sam said. "Kinda for the first time and…"

"Oh," Danny replied as his eyes slid to the floor. Sam bit her bottom lip and the memory of the last time she and Danny had a conversation like this, flashed through her mind. It had marked the end of an era and the beginning of a change she wasn't sure she liked.

Danny followed her as she carried the tray of trash, dumped it and placed the tray above the garbage can. She then turned to him and her breath caught at the look of sadness on his face. In all honesty she'd rather ditch Will and spend time with Danny any day of the week.

"I can just, not show," Sam told him as she looked down at her boots. "I'll tell them that I was kidnapped by the ghost kid."

"Oh yeah risk my reputation," Danny joked then sighed.

"Okay," Sam said as she smiled. "I was kidnapped by a horrible ghost and the ghost kid rescued me." Danny followed her as she began walking out of the Nasty Burger, unsure of what to say.

"Come on Danny," she continued. "We can go so something fun. We won't have much time before we graduate and then well go to college and…"

"Okay," Danny said quickly, not wanting to hear her finish the sentence, he didn't want her to acknowledge that they'd never see each other again. Sam smiled happily then looked up and down the street then took off for the alley. Danny followed her, going ghost almost immediately then pausing.

"Where do you want to go?" he asked.

"Let's go sit on the pier," Sam told him as she put her arm around him. Danny nodded his head in agreement.

* * *

Sam and Danny sat dangling their feet over the pier as they sat silently together and watched the sunset. Sam sighed and looked at Danny a moment as he leaned forward and looked into the water. 

"Where have you applied to college?" Sam finally asked and Danny froze. He looked at her a minute then shrugged one shoulder.

"You have applied right?"

"Isn't a little soon?" Danny asked as he swung his feet.

Sam sighed. "Danny…"

"I'm staying here," he said shortly. "How can I leave? If I do the place will be over run with ghosts in less than a month…"

"You can't be sure of that," Sam told him.

"Do you want to risk it?" Danny asked as he met her eyes. "Ember, Desiree even Vlad, do you want to risk them taking over?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "You have to have a life too Danny you can't just give up all your dreams because…"

"I can. I will and I have," Danny told her. His eyebrows furrowed a moment then he looked back down into the water. "Besides, what does it matter to you Sam?"

"You're my best friend!" Sam told him. "It matters because I care about you."

"No," Danny said. "It doesn't. What matters is that all of this is over."

"All of what?" Sam asked worriedly.

"This!" Danny said as he gestured across to the lights of Amity Park across the water. "The way things are now. You, Tuck, me, the team. It's over Sam. We're going to go our separate ways, we're already starting to."

"No we're not!" Sam denied, a feeling of panic starting at her toes and creeping up into her stomach making her feel sick.

Danny took a deep breath, the feelings of anger and betrayal were beginning to surface and as much as he knew he had no right to show those feelings, he couldn't keep them back any longer.

"You have Will," Danny said. "You don't need Tucker and I."

"What?" Sam asked in outrage. "How can you say that Danny? Haven't I been around? Haven't I been there when I needed you?"

Danny gave her an emotionless look. "On the surface Sam. Only on the surface. We know where your heart is. You'd rather be with Will. I don't know why you even bother trying."

Sam shook her head and blinked back the tears filling her eyes. "Why do you think I'm here now?"

"I don't know," Danny answered blankly. "Pity?"

"I see," Sam said coldly. "I'm here, because I missed my best friend and wanted to spend some time with him! I blew off dinner with my boyfriend, his parents and mine, to be with you because you asked, and I know I've not spent a lot of time with you, but…"

Sam took a deep breath. She wanted to tell him she was there because she loved him, almost desperately and couldn't resist the chance to spend time with him, even if she knew better, even if she knew the price she'd have pay.

"You what?" Danny asked as turned to Sam in time to see several tears spill from her eyes. She wiped them away angrily.

"I've just been stupid haven't I?" she asked bitterly.

Danny wiped his hands across his eyes. "No," he answered. "You haven't Sam. I'm sorry."

"I should go," she said stiffly.

"Sam," Danny began as she stood. She looked down at him for a moment then sighed.

"What?"

He reached up and took her hand. "Don't go," he told her. "Stay with me."

"I can't," she told him gently as she put her hand on the top of his head. "I'm sorry, Danny."

Danny watched her go with his heart in his throat. He contemplated going after her, but stopped, what good would it do to chase her down? What would he tell her?

"I love you, Sam," he whispered softly as he pulled his legs up and laid his head on his knees.

"A lot of good it does you, telling her when she's not around," came a voice from the thin air.

"Hanging around the dock like the creep you are I see," Danny said coldly as the man in questioned materialized beside him.

Vlad smiled wickedly as he looked at the back of Danny's head. "I hate to see you make such terrible mistakes, Daniel. I'd hate to see you become like me."

"Oh I'm sure that would just break your heart," Danny replied sarcastically. "What do you want, Vlad? Why are you stalking me?"

Vlad walked a little away from Danny, his expensive Italian shoes clicking on the warped boards of the pier. Danny waited anxiously, his muscles tensed in the anticipation of an attack.

"Unrequited love is so painful," Vlad began in a tone thick with pity. "So bitter and grievous." Danny closed his eyes shut tight trying to block out Vlad's words. "I've spent so much of my life mourning for what I lost…"

"My mother was never yours to begin with, Vlad," Danny growled.

"And Sam," Vlad replied, sounding pleased. "She's never belonged to you."

"She's my best friend!" Danny justified.

"And Maddie was mine," Vlad replied. "Jack and Maddie, my best friends."

Danny took a deep breath. "The situation is completely different, Vlad."

Vlad nodded his head as he walked a little further away. "On the surface it seems to be that way doesn't it?"

"We are not the same," Danny spat angrily as he clenched his fists. "Our situations are not the same. You wanted my Mom and couldn't win her heart. I am letting Sam go of my own free will."

Vlad laughed. "You're letting her go? You are?"

"Yes," Danny said as he turned and faced Vlad. The older man raised his eyebrows at the look of hatred in Danny's eyes then stepped aside as Danny passed.

"Then why is she still in your life my boy?" Vlad smiled to himself as he watched Danny walk away then turned back to the water, put his hands in his pockets and chuckled.

* * *

Danny stalked away from Vlad and kept walking. His mind was set on one course and one course alone. He looked at the time on his cell phone then took a deep breath. He decided to remain human and walk in order to give himself time to think. 

He arrived at Sam's house half an hour later. He stood across the street for a moment then looked at Sam's bedroom window. The light was on, but he didn't want to visit without calling first. He dug his phone out of his pocket then looked back up at the window.

He could see two figures silhouetted against the curtains, locked in a passionate embrace and he froze. His cell phone slipped through numb fingers and clattered to the ground. He didn't bother to pick it up. He just looked at the window for a moment, he didn't see them break apart as he turned on his heel and walked away.

* * *

Ten minutes later found Sam and Will walking to her house. She had gone to him to apologize for skipping out on dinner and he'd understood, but told her that her parents were worried and insisted she call home. 

Sam's mother had been frantic and was relieved that Sam was all right, but was angry at her for making a bad impression on Will's parents. Sam apologized to her mother though she didn't explain what happened.

"They're in my room," Sam said and Will looked up at her window and smiled.

"That's where your room is?" he asked. Sam nodded and he squeezed her hand.

"So now I know which window I need to climb into to talk you into running away with me forever," Will told her as he laughed. Sam smiled then looked down as her toe hit what she thought was a rock, but it wasn't a rock. She bent down, picked up the cell phone and looked at Will.

"Some dork lost their cell?" he asked in mirthful disbelief as Sam flipped the cell open. She knew who it belonged to the moment she picked it up, but she needed to see, just to make sure.

"I'll take it," Will told her as he held out his hand. "I'll call one of the numbers in the address book and find the owner."

"I know who it belongs to," Sam told him as she slipped the phone into her pocket.

Will sighed. "Just hand it over Sam, I can take care of it. You've had a hard day, no need to bother yourself anymore."

"No," Sam told him forcefully. "I'm going to go in and see my parents then give…the owner of the phone a call."

Will nodded his head then took Sam's hand. "I'm sorry that you've felt like I've been pressuring you too much lately," he told her sweetly then pulled her close and put his arms around her.

Sam returned the embrace and sighed as he kissed the top of her head. "I think maybe we should take a break," she told him and he let her go, and gave he a sorrowful look.

"Have I done something wrong?" he asked.

"No," Sam answered. "I just, I'm just not ready for this. I told you…."

Will closed his turquoise blue eyes and shook his head. "I think you're feeling freaked out Sam and maybe you care about me too much and…"

Sam growled in irritation. "It's not that Will. Maybe I don't care about you enough!" She immediately regretted her outburst as he looked down.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I just need time."

"Okay," Will told her. "Just you know…call me when you're ready.

* * *

Danny looked up as his bedroom door opened. He was expecting Jazz. He was sure she was going to show up and ask why he was stomping around his room like a crazy person, but it wasn't Jazz who poked her head into his room. 

"Hey," Sam said softly. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah," Danny said as he jumped off his bed then stood awkwardly, not knowing what to do with himself. His first intention was to hug her but he thought better of it.

"You dropped this," Sam told him as she handed him his cell phone. Danny looked at the device like it was a snake about to bite him. "Will and I were walking home and I found it. What was it doing in front of my house?"

"You were walking home?" Danny asked in confusion as he rubbed the back of his neck. He wondered who he saw in her window.

"Yeah," Sam said then looked down at the phone in her hands as she began playing with it idly.

"Thanks for bringing it to me," Danny started as he reached over and took the phone from her. "Is Will waiting downstairs?"

Tears filled Sam's eyes and she shook her head. Danny watched her for a moment his heart filling with sympathy and he swore that if Will had hurt he, he'd kill him. "Why not?"

"We broke up," Sam said and Danny had to suppress a sigh of relief. "I broke up with him."

"Why?" Danny asked as more tears rolled down Sam's face and he moved and pulled her into his arms in what he told himself was only a friendly embrace, nothing more. Just friends.

Sam buried her face in Danny's chest and took a deep breath, she'd missed the comforting smell of him. She wanted to just cuddle into his arms and sleep for a few days, feeling safe and at home.

"Things can go back to the way they were now," Sam told him softly.

"You didn't do it for me?" Danny asked then immediately felt like a jerk as Sam stiffened slightly in his arms. He wanted her to say yes badly. "I mean because of what we talked about?"

"No," Sam answered quickly as she squeezed her eyes shut tightly. Yes, yes she did it for him, because she didn't want to lose him. She'd rather be Danny's friend than Will's girlfriend.

"Oh," Danny said as he buried his face in her hair and sighed in disappointment.

"I'm not ready," Sam told him. "For what Will wants. I'm not ready for that Danny. You know?" He didn't know what to say. He was, he wanted to tell her he loved her, but now it was impossible.

"Friends?" Sam asked contentedly as she moved so that her lips were almost brushing his neck.

Danny wanted to scream no! He wanted more. "Yes," he answered. "Always.


End file.
